Overview

Safeguarding the financial system from illicit financial transactions takes rigorous regulation and enforcement as well as collaboration with local, state, federal, and international law enforcement.

Treasury plans to continue to engage with the domestic financial sector, including through the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group, and the international financial sector, including through targeted outreach to foreign financial institutions and bankers’ associations, to better understand the illicit finance risks in the international financial system. TFI currently leads an

Safeguarding the financial system from illicit financial transactions takes rigorous regulation and enforcement as well as collaboration with local, state, federal, and international law enforcement.

Treasury plans to continue to engage with the domestic financial sector, including through the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group, and the international financial sector, including through targeted outreach to foreign financial institutions and bankers’ associations, to better understand the illicit finance risks in the international financial system. TFI currently leads an interagency project to assess domestic money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Participating departments include DOJ and the financial regulatory and law enforcement agencies. The project team is developing a fact-based assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing methods and the initiatives underway to interdict that activity.

Progress Update

In FY 2015, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) moved the global community forward on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies and coordinated multi-lateral efforts to support Ukraine’s efforts to recover misappropriated assets. FinCEN issued the first civil enforcement action against a virtual currency exchanger, Ripple Labs, for willfully violating the BSA.

Strategic Objectives

Identify priority threats to the financial system using intelligence analysis and outreach to the financial sector

Description:

Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) forms the vanguard of protecting the nation’s finances against illicit actors. Using intelligence from all sources, Treasury works to identify financial activity associated with actors, operations, or systems that threaten the national security or financial sector of the United States. Partnering with other parts of the government, Treasury aims to detect, deter, and deny resources to these threats, particularly through the administration of sanctions. The sanctions programs administered by TFI’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) seek to disrupt the financial and commercial networks of terrorists, narcotics traffickers, and proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, among others. Treasury helps degrade these networks by publicly identifying the leadership, participants, and network of illicit organizations, and denying them access to the U.S. financial system and market place.

Develop, implement, and enforce sanctions and other targeted financial measures

Description:

TFI works with other agencies to identify and limit or deny financial services to, and target the assets of, those individuals and organizations who are known to be taking actions against the United States or are aiding such people.

Treasury has the authority to employ powerful tools that can cut off the money supply and trade conduits of illicit actors and organizations. Sanctions administered by OFAC, and other targeted financial measures administered by FinCEN, have proven to be effective and successful tools. By strategically using these tools, Treasury seeks to cripple these actors’ ability to do harm. The economic sanctions programs have become increasingly sophisticated as financial networks have grown and non-state actors have begun projecting their power globally. Through these sanctions, OFAC continues to greatly limit the financial capabilities of illicit actors. Moreover, targeted financial measures such as sanctions offer U.S. policymakers affirmative foreign policy options beyond diplomatic approaches alone to handle threats to the national security or foreign policy of the United States. Treasury also seizes assets forfeited from criminal activities and administers the forfeited funds in furtherance of law enforcement and protection activities[1].

The financial systems of the United States and the world are in need of greater protection from attacks on their information technology infrastructure. In an age of rapidly advancing technology, Treasury recognizes the need to collaborate with industry to develop protections that can deter attacks on the nation’s critical networks. Working with a combination of international and domestic government, non-government, and private sector partners, Treasury will continue to improve the protection and resilience of financial sector critical infrastructure, including federal financial information and private financial infrastructure, against cyber and physical attacks.

Protect the integrity of the financial system by implementing, promoting, and enforcing anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing standards

Description:

Safeguarding the financial system from illicit financial transactions takes rigorous regulation and enforcement as well as collaboration with local, state, federal, and international law enforcement.

Treasury plans to continue to engage with the domestic financial sector, including through the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group, and the international financial sector, including through targeted outreach to foreign financial institutions and bankers’ associations, to better understand the illicit finance risks in the international financial system. TFI currently leads an interagency project to assess domestic money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Participating departments include DOJ and the financial regulatory and law enforcement agencies. The project team is developing a fact-based assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing methods and the initiatives underway to interdict that activity.